Chuck Koeppen
Cross Country & Track Coach
Inducted: June 27, 2013
31st Annual Induction Ceremony
Denver, Colorado
(The following appeared in that year’s HOF induction program)
"Practice what you preach" could have been the motto of Chuck Koeppen, who was the most successful cross country and track coach in Indiana history during his 37 years at Carmel High School.
If you're going to ask your athletes to run, you might as well run with them - and beat them! Just months before beginning his tremendous career at Carmel in 1972, Koeppen competed in the Olympic Trials marathon in Eugene, Oregon. That same year, he clocked a 2:28 time at the Boston Marathon.
With that backdrop, Koeppen developed one of the strongest boys cross country programs in the nation at Carmel from 1976 to 1982, winning six Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) state titles in seven years. This included the 1981 team that won virtually every meet with 15 points (the lowest possible total) and was considered the No. I team in the nation. In some circles it was known as the greatest team of the 20th century.
Following that seven-year stretch of success for his boys team, the Carmel girls cross country team began its own streak in 1982. Koeppen's girls teams won six state titles in seven years from 1982 to 1988, followed by another three-year streak from 1995 to 1997.
Altogether, Koeppen led Carmel to 11 IHSAA boys cross country state titles and 11 girls state championships. On five occasions, his girls and boys teams won state titles in the same year (1982, 1987, 1988, 1996 and 2008). The dual championships in 2008 came in his final season as the Carmel coach.
In addition to his combined 22 state cross country championships, Koeppen's boys teams were state runners-up nine times. and his girls teams finished second seven times. The boys teams won 34 sectional titles and 29 regional championships. and the girls teams claimed 26 sectional and 23 regional titles.
Koeppen also coached boys track at Carmel and led the Greyhounds to the 2000 IHSAA state championship. That title was particularly meaningful to Koeppen as his son, Charlie, won the 3200-meter run. In all, Koeppen coached five boys track and field champions and two girls state cross country champions. He's also coached numerous relay teams to state titles. Overall, Koeppen won 23 IHSAA state championships - more than any coach in any sport in Indiana history.
Koeppen is past president of the Indiana Association of Track & Cross Country Coaches (IATCCC) and is a member of the IATCCC Hall of Fame. He also has been inducted into the Valparaiso High School Athletic Hall of Fame and Ball State University Hall of Fame. He was selected National High School Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1982 and National High School Track Coach of the Year in 2000.
A Valparaiso High School graduate, Koeppen earned his bachelor's degree from Ball State University, where he set six school distance records.
Koeppen was born February 13, 1946, in Valparaiso, Indiana. In December 2008, Koeppen began his second coaching career as men's cross country coach at Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI) and remains in that position today.
